Dozens of security staff who detain and deport people for the Home Office are taking legal action over race, sex, disability discrimination and unfair dismissal, the Guardian has learned.
The detention and deportation officers work for Mitie Care & Custody, part of the company Mitie, which is one of the government’s 40 strategic suppliers and has been awarded 400 contracts since 2015 valued at £2.55bn, according to the procurement analysts Tussell.
The Guardian understands that the majority of the cases are among escorts who collect people the Home Office wants to deport from immigration detention centres, take them to airports and accompany them on planes back to their home countries. The headquarters of the Mitie Care & Custody escorting operation is at Gatwick airport and the cases have been lodged at London South employment tribunal.
The tribunal provided figures to the Guardian of 15 ongoing cases, 17 cases listed for hearing, five claims submitted and one case that has gone to appeal. Since the information was provided last week, the Guardian has learned of at least one further claim that has been lodged.
Cases include at least six of race discrimination, more than a dozen cases of unfair dismissal and a smaller number of sexual harassment, disability discrimination and victimisation claims. Mitie is understood to have about 150 escorts.
One of the escorts, who has worked for successive Home Office contractors as an escort over a period of years has been dismissed by Mitie and has lodged a claim in the London South employment tribunal, said: “The number of escorts who have lodged cases in the London South employment tribunal is unprecedented in my experience.
“The high numbers bringing a range of cases including race, sex and disability discrimination cases against Mitie should be ringing alarm bells for the company and for the Home Office, which provides security accreditation for the escorts.”
Some of the more controversial deportations including flights to Jamaica involve the deportation of people of colour. The work of escorts can be challenging and may involve the removal of people in a distressed state, some of whom have recently attempted suicide.
The spotlight has fallen on Mitie Care & Custody over a number of issues including a claim in one employment tribunal case in which some black escort staff were referred to as “cotton pickers”. While the claimant’s race and disability claim was dismissed by the tribunal in a judgment in June last year, the panel said it was “deeply concerned” about the use of the racist term.
In another controversy over allegations of racist WhatsApp messages sent by some Mitie escorts, the contractor admitted to the Guardian it had received complaints two years before the media reported on the issue but failed to escalate the complaints when they were first made.
Mitie also said it was investigating claims that some escorts had paid for sex while deporting people abroad. Whistleblowers said the behaviour had occurred over a 10-year period. Mitie told the Guardian in April it was investigating the claims but so far had found no evidence that this had occurred since Mitie took over the escort contract.
The number of Home Office deportations has fallen in recent years. In 2010, there were 14,000 enforced returns. That number dropped to 7,000 by the time Priti Patel took over as home secretary. By 2021, the figure had further decreased to 2,761 enforced returns. During the pandemic removals reduced sharply.
A Mitie spokesperson said: “We take all complaints and concerns raised by our colleagues very seriously. Some of these claims were raised four years ago and are still being processed due to a pause in tribunals during Covid-19.
“While we cannot comment on individual cases, all reports of inappropriate behaviour are fully investigated and colleagues who do not adhere to our culture and values have no place in our business.”
A Home Office spokesperson said they would not be commenting.
